English Class Test 2

1. Governmental Surveillance

1.1. For Governmental Surveillance Public security Cameras improve public safety -Cameras can be use as a way to keep an eye out for crimes that are being committed. Panoramic fisheye cameras for example do an excellent job in providing 360° seamless surveillance solutions. Surveillance Cameras reduce the crime rate -If an individual knows that there are cameras in a certain area, they might not try to do a criminal act. Crime incidents in Humboldt Park dropped 20% after cameras were installed. Public video surveillance helps catching criminals -If a camera has been set up in an area where the crime is committed, the chances of catching the criminal are much higher due to the improvement of facial recognition. After the bombings at Boston Marathon it took the FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation) only three days to release shots of the suspects, taken by a surveillance camera.

1.1.1. Against governmental Surveillance Security cameras in public violate privacy rights -Whether cameras reduce crime or not, they will still be an intervention of privacy. Everybody has a private life and does not want the government to know about it. Surveillance cameras can easily be abused -Cameras can be hacked and information gathered could be used in a wrong way, for example as a form of blackmailing. Public security cameras are not effective -The effectiveness of surveillance cameras has not been proven. Even though the government wants to prevent terror attacks by installing security cameras, a suicidal bomber is not going to be deterred by a camera.

2. Cultural Diversity

2.1. For Cultural Diversity There is a lot of different food. When your neighbour is from another country you can exchange your food recipe. You can learn another language. When you want to learn a bit of the language because you want to go to the country your neighbour comes from, you can learn the most important words from him. You can exchange workers: you can learn from them, maybe they do something more efficient. Lots of companies do this, like Bosch.

2.2. Against Cultural Diversity Ghettos can be formed → people do not integrate/immigrate, people just live with people from their country Immigrant my not accept the culture of the country they moved to--> destroying traditons

3. Gun Control

3.1. Against Gun Control The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects individual gun ownership - The Second Amendment states that US citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. Gun ownership is an American tradition and is protected by the Second Amendment; more gun control would infringe upon the right to bear arms. Gun control laws do not prevent crime; gun ownership prevents crime -A study found that assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates, but states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders. According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), guns are used for self-defense 2.5 million times a year. The Vice President of the NRA stated, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Gun control laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws - Of 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012, 75% of the shooters used legally obtained weapons. This means that 25% used illegally obtained weapons what shows that criminals ignore the law anyways. The problem is that the guns are taken away from law-abiding citizens, while criminals avoid these laws. Despite several gun control measures in Chicago(in Illinois), the people still had guns which came from outside of Illinois.

3.2. For Gun Control More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths -There were almost 500.000 total gun deaths between 1999 and 2014 in the US. David Frum stated that American children under the age of 15 are 9 times more likely to die of a gun accident than children in other advanced wealthy countries. -according to a Lancet study, federal background checks could reduce firearm deaths by 60%, background checks for ammunition purchases and gun identification requirements by more than 80%. Guns are rarely used in self-defense. -Almost 30 Million violent crimes where committed between 2007 and 2011, but only in 1% of the cases the victims protected themselves with a firearm. In a nation of more than 300 million firearms it is a striking low number. example: in 2010 there were 36 criminal homicides for every “justifiable homicide“ High-capacity magazines should be banned because they too often turn murder into mass murder. -High-capacity magazines were used in at least 50% of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012. When high-capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, the death rate rose by more than 60% and the injury rate rose by 160%.